The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1887-10-22
THE PssrIFERoUs ANEcDoTs.
DISCRIMINATION Rctlyccn Good stories
ana POOR neS-Eiorsc sense.

49, 80 LAt1A Y
ana Poor OucS-EEorsc sense.
lBiH Nye in Detroit Free Prcssl
out of every 1000 people born into
this world OF sin and sorrow, 800 either
do not know a good story when they
hear it, forget it after they have heard
1t, do not know how to repeat it them
selves, or haven't good judgment about
when to introduce it. | lay down this
grand principle, as | am laying down all
my grand principles this season, with
u tear of successful contradiction.
listened to a very fair amateur cam
paign speech the other elening-ycry
fair, with one exception. The anecdotes
were not made TO illustrate the speech,
but tie speech had been distorted to fit
the anecdotes. You know an artist
sometimes strikes a good idea in a pict-
urc II somebody writes up 10 The Illus
tration instead OF writing a good thing
and theu having it illustrated incidpnl-
ally. That's tho way it was with that
speech.
To discriminate between a good story
and u poor one, to remember the good
ones and forget the poor ones, to bring
in the right one in at the right moment
and to 60 it Is naturally as the startled
mud turtle seeks the bosom Of the roll
ing deep, requires sang froid, n%aiyctc,
chic, pro bono publico and horse sense.
These qualities are rarely united in one
individual. Chic is useless without pro
lono publico and both are n. G. without
what Herbert Spencer has 50 charminSly
characterized us horse sense.
The world is peoplod with denizens
who are consi antly telling anecdotes
that claim to be facctious, but do not
seem to get there. How often is the
joyous group thrown into spasms by the
scrap book story teller, who is always u
century behind the patent insidcs, and
who joyoJsly soWs The seeds of bypo-
chOndria everywhere.
some men al never take a hint. They
g through life telling the same gloom
enyiroacd funny stories, cheerfully
showing their bantlings of the alleged
Drain under the hoses of love abiding
C..izcnS, inviting scoYn and tontumely,
lroycy laughing ut their y salt rheum
humOr and never acquiring the moral
courage to take a grand North American
tumble TO themselves.
Most people dislike to give needless
pain. Unless a MAI is cruel and devil
lsh in his disposition, he viii not twice
in the same manner wound the feelings
of Tins friend; and yet we are constantly
running across the mar who has again
ana again grieyed and saddened TIE
hearts of his friends with the same de
pressing tale, resurrected from the hui
morJus catacomDs of the almanac to
poison the pure air with its p|estilential
breath.
one thing is absolutely certain 10 me.
feel 1t as strongly as ever our fore
fathers foIt uhe first thIOb of freedom,
and ! wonder that neither political party
has embodied The principle in its plat
form. This can never be a peaceful,
prosperous and progressive people, NOR
ally and physically free, until tie strong
E:nd of the law shall reveal itself like a
club flush, and quarantine the effete,
pestiIerouS, miasmatic, fungus anecdOte
Of our boosted American institutions,
which, like the large rcd picnic ant, has
planted itself between the shoulder
blades of liberty, and defies the civil,
the military and the naval forces Of the
nation to dislodge it.. Heart broken
klIr. D.